Did the Ivy League break America?
💠We're still obsessed with smarts. What we need now is wisdom.
David Brooks' provocative cover story in The Atlantic exposes an uncomfortable truth: The system we built to identify "merit" isn't just broken—it's breaking us.
This stat blew me away (even though it probably shouldn't have): 87% of college admissions officers admit they're undermining education just to climb rankings. We've created an arms race where no one can unilaterally disarm. 🤯
Brooks' diagnosis rings painfully true. We pretend IQ is a proxy for potential. We conflate academic achievement and name-brand credentials with "success". We've created a new aristocracy—under the guise of "meritocracy"—even more insidious because this time it feels "earned."
And the backlash is tearing society apart.
We're facing a reckoning about the purpose of education – and it's not on the horizon...it's here. The real question is this: What does the next generation truly need to learn, and how do we reinvent the system around those things?
Right now we're breeding fragility and compliance. We're teaching kids to ask: Will this be on the test? Will this help me get ahead? How do I stand out?
These are the questions that got us here – a world where we're checking boxes, jumping through hoops, and focused on personal advancement...at any cost.
But what's needed is dramatically different.
We need leaders who can learn from experience.
Who trust their inner knowing.
Who find clarity in complexity.
Who have the conscience (and commitment) to build a world that works for everyone.
Here's why I'm hopeful: We're at an inflection point.
AI can already ace the tests. The institutions and incentives that shaped the last century obviously won't serve us in this one. The emperor has no clothes—and it's time to start talking about it. 😉
In an age of ARTIFICIAL intelligence (pause for a moment and remember what that word means!!) the future belongs to those who master what makes us authentically human: intuition, discernment, conscience, and courage.
At The Flight School, we're not tinkering – we're making a bet on what comes next.
And we want you to join us.
My high-school senior went through the college application process this year so this article resonated with me very personally. While we live in the United States, we are collectively from Finland, South Africa and Canada, and thus bring a bit of an outsider's view on the American system. My daughter has been successful and performed well in her American high school but after traveling abroad is drawn to different ways of thinking. She's developed a more global view than many of her peers who stressed about the Ivy Leagues, and has chosen to study in Europe where the lifestyle is less rank-obsessive and offers a more human-centered, culturally rich and vibrant life experience.